Jack Layton's letter gives cancer patients hope

Charlie Fidelman, Gazette Health Reporter08.24.2011

NDP leader Jack Layton delivers a keynote speech at the party's 50th Anniversary Convention in Vancouver, British Columbia, in this June 19, 2011 file photo. Layton, the charismatic leader of Canada's official opposition, died on August 22, 2011 just months after guiding his New Democratic Party to its strongest ever performance in the May federal election.

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MONTREAL - In a letter drafted hours before his death, NDP leader Jack Layton sent a caring message of hope to millions of Canadians struggling with a cancer of their own, while keeping mum on the type of illness that felled him.

Please do not be discouraged, he wrote, “that my own journey hasn’t gone as well as I had hoped.”

Layton’s family and political entourage are not saying what kind of cancer he had that did not respond to treatment, fuelling speculation that the prostate cancer he had vowed to beat like his father before him, had returned in another, more aggressive form.

The same comments surfaced when Layton, looking emaciated and ill, revealed last month he was stepping down temporarily to fight a “new” cancer.

But why the well-guarded secret? Is Layton’s entourage worried about sending a negative message to those who have “that” cancer?

Some in the field suggest that Layton died of advanced prostate cancer. Metastatic cancer cells invade lymph vessels and blood vessels near a tumour and migrate to other parts of the body. The common sites for prostate cancer are lymph nodes and bones.

Health advocates, cancer survivors and doctors, however, say confidentiality is far more important than transparency, even for public figures. Layton’s message of hope does not require further details about his medical record, although more information may come out later.

Regardless of the cause of death, nothing will detract from Layton’s warm, spirited and altruistic message to all Canadians to “embrace life,” said Nathalie Rodrigue of the Coalition Priorité Cancer.

“What we should remember from his message is that he lost the battle, but there are many more who survive,” Rodrigue said. “You have to keep the dream alive to the end.”

Dr. Fred Saad of the National Cancer Institute of Canada and director of urologic oncology and the prostate cancer research laboratory at Centre hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal, wouldn’t comment on Layton’s cause of death, but said that his cancer progressed extremely fast.

Prostate research has advanced, but so far it has failed to turn the cancer into a chronic, long-term illness, Saad said.

“To say that prostate cancer is a benign disease does a disservice to the whole field of research. There are 4,000 men who die of prostate cancer every year in Canada (about 1,000 in Quebec alone.) As many men die of prostate cancer as women die of breast cancer,” Saad said. “No one ever said breast cancer is a benign disease because they cure so many.”

Prostate cancer is extremely curable — about 90 per cent survive —, but only if diagnosed early, said Saad, who is treating about 30 men with advanced stage prostate cancer in his clinics.

“If it’s found late, almost all men will die of their disease. My clinics are full of men — I have a specialized clinic for advanced disease and I have a 100-per-cent mortality rate. Every single man in that clinic knows that he is going to die of prostate cancer,” Saad said. “My goal is to keep them alive as long as possible, with a good quality of life.”

Current treatment options not available years ago for advanced cancer can now work for several years, he noted. “Great strides have been made — only this month two new drugs were just approved for very late stages of the disease.

“It can go on relatively slowly ,but all end up succumbing to the disease,” he said.

Saad suggested that the election campaign did not add to Layton’s demise, and that perhaps the opposite is true.

“Layton had a goal and a willpower that kept him alive longer than others,” Saad said, recalling that many patients live for a wedding or the birth of a grandchild.

“Once the objective is reached, they let go,” he said.

Layton’s demise is a further sign more research is needed, said Michael Pollak, director of the cancer prevention centre at the Jewish General Hospital, and chair of the Alexander Goldfarb Research Chair in Medical Oncology.

“People involved in research in cancer would look at the case of Jack Layton and say, ‘We’ve still got a ways to go,’ ” he said. “It’s not impressive that the best medical science couldn’t do more for him.”

Vocal about exercise, avoiding smoking and keeping a healthy lifestyle, Layton was a patient advocate who had a personal interest in cancer long before it struck him personally.

“It shows that not all cancer can be prevented,” Pollak said. “People who get cancer should not feel it’s their fault — unless they smoke three packs a day.”

About 30 per cent of cancers are related to lifestyle issues including smoking, diet and alcohol, he added.

“Many get cancer even if they lead a perfect life and avoid the risk factors,” Pollak said. “But all of us should do what we can to limit risks. That’s the attitude Jack had, if you look at his policy.”

If there’s one area of government spending that should not be trimmed, it’s cancer research, Pollak said. “We’re all reminded of our fragility when a loved politician dies this way.”

At the Montreal West Island Prostate Cancer Support Group, members were grateful that a high-profile politician like Jack Layton had came forward with news of his illness last year, said Ron Sawatzky, group president.

Regardless of the cancer that took Layton, the ultimate message is one of awareness, he said.

“Get checked early and regularly, and the chances of survival are greatly improved,” Sawatzky said.

According to the Canadian Cancer Society, 25,000 men, or one in seven men, will develop prostate cancer and one in 28 will die of the disease, making it the second-most common cause of death among men.

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